The ceramics can be used in refractories, furnaces and molten metal-flow processes. Ninety-five percent of Pyrotek’s
production will be exported.

“This is leading-edge technology, developed here in New Zealand, and we’re going to keep it here,” Mr Cooper says.

Pyrotek is an overseas-owned private company with 55 branches in 19 countries. It specialises in supplying ceramic
products to the aluminium industries. Pyrotek in New Zealand has grown from two people to 30 in six years, and more jobs
are expected.

Mr Cooper says the company expects to produce export sales of $6 million a year within five years.

“We’ll double or treble the workforce,” he says, as the factory in East Tamaki gears up production.

“We used to be just a small warehousing operation in New Zealand," he says. "Instead of just bringing materials in,
we’re going to be a net exporter of materials worldwide. Now the New Zealand operation is likely to become the
high-technology research centre for the company’s industrial ceramics operations worldwide.”

O'-Sialon is the result of a partnership with IRL scientists, with funding coming from Pyrotek and Technology New
Zealand, a scheme of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology that helps businesses develop new products,
processes and services.

“We needed Industrial Research because we just did not have the facilities, or in some areas the expertise, to undertake
the research ourselves in the time we have,” Mr Cooper says.

Ian Brown, IRL’s ceramics manager, says O-sialon grew out of an earlier project between IRL and Pyrotek that began in
1992.

“They wanted us to help develop a reaction-bonded silicon carbide product that withstands a lot of heat. That ran for
three years. That then led to O'Sialon, and we worked on that for three years, finishing only in June this year.”

A specialised clay in the raw mix allows a greater variety and lower cost of forming techniques, including extrusion and
slip-casting. In trials at local aluminium-casting factories, the new product lasted six months – traditional components
lasted only up to 10 days.

Dr Brown says he was delighted with the project's success – "translating a good piece of science into a good piece of
technology”.

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